Our newest customer: a little TX outfit called Dell

Normally when I announce a new client I say a little bit about the company, but in the case of Dell what can I tell you that you don’t already know? One of the reasons I am so excited about the opportunity is that RedMonk works best with organisations that are open to change. We don’t really “do” conservative. We work best at clients that want fresh thinking, fresh perspectives, and cultural change.

When Dell was “just a PC company” we really had very little to say to the firm. When Dell became the industry leader in Wintel servers we still didn’t have much to say to the firm. In fact we really didn’t have much to say to Dell, ironically enough, until it had some tough quarters and so began to reinvent itself. The Soul of a New Dell. Now that’s interesting to us…

Dell is now doing a far better job of engaging in conversations with customers, twittering for example, going hardcore with a green agenda, listening more actively than talking, and so on. Its in that environment that we plan to play. And Stephen will be happy because Dell supports pre-installed Ubuntu… 😉

RedMonk will be working with Dell in some key areas: notably sustainability. That’s right- Dell has signed up for advisory services based on our Greenmonk research agenda. One reason Dell is really exciting from a sustainability perspective (Well done Dell!) is that its an incredible supply chain innovator. Dell is a bit like Wal*Mart in this respect- it is in a position to do so much good in terms of creating lower carbon supply chains. In The World is Flat author Tom Friedman lauded Dell for sending components hither and thither around the world with low cost oil as the enabler. So what comes next? Hardware as a service, anyone? Reduced Bit Miles via Cloud.

We’re going to help Dell understand how the world is changing and respond accordingly. Unlike some of our smaller clients however, I don’t expect our help to lead to the company’s acquisition 😉

Dell is our first vendor customer that clearly isn’t a software company, and its a marquee name in what are increasingly tough economic times. What’s not to like?